INTRODUCTION, 7 



^r^r 



are medicines which in- 



crease the sexual power. 



fsrsr Visha or poisons are said to be endowed with the following 

 qualities, namely, ^T*ft Vyavdyi, that is affecting the entire 

 system, as for example, opium and hemp. *j^ Stikshma, that is, 

 penetrating into the minutest pores of the body, fsrcfnfaj Vikdsi, 

 that is drying the humours, depressing the system and causing 

 relaxation of the joints, as for example betel-nuts. ^TT^^f Agneya, 

 that is, heating or stimulant. *r?Tcr? Maddcaha, that is depriving 

 men of their senses and enveloping their minds in darkness as 

 spirituous liquors. Taken in large doses, poisons destroy life, 

 but, judiciously used, they act as curatives and restore health 

 even in dangerous d seases. 



Nine active or virulent poisons are mentioned by most writers, 

 namely vatsandbJia, hdrtdra, saktu, pradipana, saurdshtrika 

 sringi, kdlakiita, licddhala, and brahmaputra. These cannot all 

 be identified at present. Most of them are apparently varieties of 

 aconite, (see page 97). The following seven drugs are described, 

 as minor poisons, viz., opium, gunjd (seeds of Abrus precatorius) , 

 datura, roots of Nerium odorum ( karavird ) , and Gloriosa superb a 

 ( languli ) and the milky juices of Calotropis gigantea (arka) and 

 Euphorbia neriifolia (snuhi). The mineral poisons mentioned 

 in Susruta are phendsma bhasma or white arsenic, and haritdla or 

 orpiment. Of animal poisons, the poison of the serpent is the 

 only one used in medicine. 



WEIGHTS AND MEASUEES 



The scales of weights and measures used in ancient days 

 differed in different parts of the country. Separate scales are 

 described by modern compilers, under the names of Mdgadhi, 

 Kdlinga, Chdraka, Sazisruta, etc. The number of gunjds making 

 a tola varies in these scales from forty to ninetj -six. The scale 

 of weights and measures in ordinary use in Bengal, at the prqpent 

 day, has the gunjd, (seed of Abrus precatori >) for its lowest 

 weight. The gunja, however, is divided into fractional parts by 



other seeds, thus eighteen mustard seeds, four grains of paddy, 



